Why did the ancient Romans use human urine?

In ancient times, urine was not just sewage that had to be cleaned up. The most advanced civilizations of that time considered urine a valuable resource. So valuable that even taxes were levied on it. The public toilets of ancient Rome were connected to a complex and impressively efficient drainage system. However, the goal was primarily to remove compacted waste, not urine. Pouring out the urine was nothing but a waste.
The stench of a Roman urinal
Martin F. Lehmann, author of the book "Waste Management", recalls that the Roman civilization popularized not only sewer systems, baths and aqueducts, but also urinals. Thanks to archaeological research conducted in Pompeii, it is known that special amphorae were placed on the streets of imperial cities, which passers-by used to donate urine. After the containers were filled, they were taken away by slaves assigned for this purpose. However, they did not do it right away.
"Since ammonia was released after a few days, a small amount of urine should have formed in them, which meant that there was a terrible smell around these containers," says Agnieszka Krzeminska in the worksheets. In the past, people lived in mud. When and why did we start taking care of ourselves?
An invaluable resource
Amphorae were brought or taken to tanneries, dyeing, cloth and laundries. Urine was the main raw material for the treatment and purification of tissues and skin.
"It was a completely bleaching agent," explains Brian K. Harvey in the handbook of "Everyday Life in Ancient Rome," For example, it was only thanks to the abundant use of urine that it was possible to prepare truly white togas, so appreciated by politicians in the Eternal City.
The possibilities of using urine did not end there. In Roman Egypt, the soil was fertilized with human waste. This practice was indeed used, as Anna Buzer emphasizes in her book "Houses in Roman Egypt", and "Until very recently".
Urine was also one of the oldest and most effective mouthwashes. The Roman poet Catullus, who lived at the turn of the I century BC and the I century AD, ridiculed people who loved to flaunt their snow-white smile. To do this, they had to brush their teeth with their own urine every morning.
Money doesn't stink
Urine was used so willingly and widely that the state also tried to benefit from it. As a result, one of the most famous Roman proverbs was born. As Agnieszka Krzeminska recalls in her book "People Used to Live in Mud": We owe the famous saying to Vespasian - when he raised the tax on collecting urine, his son Titus called it disgusting, for which the emperor put a few coins under his nose and explained that "money does not smell." The verdict turned out to be so influential that in the XIX century, when public urinals began to be installed on the streets of French cities, they received a name coined after the name of the emperor: "Vespasian". En https://slottica-casino.com/ , los aficionados a las tragaperras estarán encantados con la gama de títulos clásicos de 3 y 5 rodillos, así como con los cientos de vídeo tragaperras de los principales proveedores de software. También hay disponibles juegos con bote progresivo como Mega Moolah o Hall of Gods. Publicado el Categorías